


If we burn

by GoldenLyra (Galaxie)



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms
Genre: Character Study, Episode 7x04 The Spoils of War, Gen, Jaime Lannister Character Study, Jaime and Cersei are POV characters so obviously Dany is shown in a bad light, Spoilers ahead if you haven't seen it!!, That doesn't mean i dislike her!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2017-08-13
Packaged: 2018-12-14 20:02:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11790432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galaxie/pseuds/GoldenLyra
Summary: He has seen this blazing field of desolation before, in his nightmares. Now, like a threatening reminder of her house’s words, Daenerys Targaryen has brought upon the battlefield fire and blood, despair and terror. He can see her back from where he is.Burn them all.What else is he supposed to do?





	If we burn

**Author's Note:**

> In addition to this being my first work in this fandom, it's unbetaed and english is not my first language. If you spot any grammatical or vocabulary mistakes, feel free to point it out in the comments!
> 
> This is more of a Jaime (and a bit of Cersei) character study than a proper story, i just needed to take out some of the stress this last scene brought me! It's short but it took me a week to complete so now the next episode is almost there and i'm almost late... Anyway, i hope you enjoy, and if you do, maybe consider leaving a kudo or a comment? c:
> 
> #IfJaimeDiesWeRiot

The world is on fire. Flames are everywhere. The air is filled with smoke, unbreathable. There is nothing to be done as the dragon flies over them one more time, delivering yet another scorching breath. All around the battlefield, men, Dothrakis and Lannister soldiers alike, are screaming, suffering, dying. Is this what the deepest of the seven hells looks like? Jaime wonders. Are your lungs filled with the smell of burning flesh, your ears unable to hear anything but the desperate calls for help and prayers of dying men, leaving you unable to stop their suffering?

_Burn them all._

He has seen this blazing field of desolation before, hundreds of times, in his nightmares. The Mad King had wanted to burn King’s Landing to the ground – Jaime can still hear the words ringing in his head, he remembers the icy fear running through his veins at the idea that the capital could be wiped out with just a single word from a madman. What else was he supposed to do but save the city? 

What is he supposed to do now? Like a threatening reminder of her house’s words, Daenerys Targaryen has brought upon the battlefield fire and blood, a blazing inferno no one can escape. Jaime can see her back from where he is; she is tending to her hurt dragon, the creature that has brought despair and terror on this field of violence. 

_Burn them all._

He has killed a Targaryen king before, to save a city from burning to the ground, to save his father, to save himself from tasting the guilt and the ashes in his mouth after it’s all over and he’s done nothing even though he could. He has killed a king before, would he kill a queen? If he takes the chance, there is no getting out of it alive. Would he give his life to make it stop, to protect his soldiers, his army?

He would. With a gesture of his hand, Jaime directs his horse towards the young queen. He grabs a spear on the way. There is no turning back. There’s no doubt in Jaime’s mind. The spear will be the end of the war or it will be the end of him. His life is a small price to pay to end this war once and for all, for if Daenerys Targaryen dies, the fire stops before the girl has a chance to become like her father.

_Burn them all._

He races through flames and smoke to take the chance he sees before him, the final leap of faith that will end everything. He’s killed a madman before; he must shove this spear in Daenerys’ back, like a cruel reminder of what he’s done years before for the same purpose: protect the innocent, defend the weak…

He hears Cersei’s voice in the back of his mind, _What about me? You would die alone and let me live without you?_ and for one split second all of Jaime’s thoughts vanish and he is unable to think about anything else than his sister. He almost turns back there and then to race to the capital, to get back to her. But he must stay – he has to end the girl’s reign of fear and destruction, before she burns the rest of the kingdom.

_Burn them all._

He rushes across the blazing field, and he watches with horror as the dragon turns its head towards him, protecting its mother. _Of fucking course._ He could kill the dragon girl but he cannot kill the dragon. This is the end – a missed opportunity that won’t even be written on his page in the white book of the Kingsguard. _Too bad,_ he thinks humorlessly, _what would they have called me then? Queenslayer? Targaryenslayer?_

Jaime closes his eyes and silently asks Cersei to forgive him. The last thing he sees is the fiery breath, the last thing he feels is the deadly heat. And then, the dark and the quiet surround him as he sinks slowly to the deep end, unconscious. 

_Burn them all, burn them all, burn them all…_

 

Queen Cersei is pacing in her apartments, waiting for Qyburn to knock at the door. But suddenly her mouth is filled with the taste of smoke and ashes and salt, and she cannot breathe – and she _knows_. Rage lights up within her like wildfire, and the urge for fierce revenge overtakes her, for even _daring_ to attack her army, to hurt her brother, her _lover_ , to make her plan end in failure. She will win this war; the little bitch from Essos may have dragons, but she has wildfire.

She will burn them all.


End file.
